Ancient History: Evaluating Sources

You need to have some idea of what your paper will discuss in the first place. Remember, however, that the research process is seldom linear. You may even find yourself altering your argument in the final stages of writing. Almost certainly, you will not initially find the sources or answers you expect to find--it takes time and patience. If you're getting frustrated or have any questions at all, don't hesitate to ask a librarian. 

Basically, when choosing sources to include in your paper, you are looking for sources that do one of the following:

• Provide background information on your topic 
• Support your argument 
• Provide contrary views you can take issue with in your paper 
• Have reliable statistical data, time lines, images or other information 

After you have asked yourself some questions about the source and determined that it's worth your time to find and read the source, you can evaluate the material in the source as you read through it.

• Read the preface--what does the author want to accomplish? Browse through the table of contents and the index.This will give you an overview of the source. Is your topic covered in enough depth to be helpful? If you don't find your topic discussed, try searching for some synonyms in the index.
• Check for a list of references or other citations that look as if they will lead you to related material that would be good sources.
• Determine the intended audience. Are you the intended audience? Consider the tone, style, level of information, and assumptions the author makes about the reader. Are they appropriate for your needs?
• Try to determine if the content of the source is fact, opinion, or propaganda. If you think the source is offering facts, are the sources for those facts clearly indicated?
• Do you think there's enough evidence offered? Is the coverage comprehensive? (As you learn more and more about your topic, you will notice that this gets easier as you become more of an expert.)
• Is the language objective or emotional?
• Are there broad generalizations that overstate or oversimplify the matter?
• Does the author use a good mix of primary and secondary sources for information?
• If the source is opinion, does the author offer sound reasons for adopting that stance? (Consider again those questions about the author. Is this person reputable?)
• Check for accuracy.
• How timely is the source? Is the source 20 years out of date? Some information becomes dated when new research is available, but other older sources of information can be quite sound 50 or 100 years later.
• Do some cross-checking. Can you find some of the same information given elsewhere?
• How credible is the author? If the document is anonymous, what do you know about the organization?
• Are there vague or sweeping generalizations that aren't backed up with evidence?
• Are arguments very one-sided with no acknowledgement of other viewpoints?

Ask these questions to get a sense for whether your source is reliable:

• Ask who is responsible for the information. 
  Are they qualified to teach you? Why are they providing this information? 
  
  
• Ask whether the information is objective. 
  Does it present both sides of an issue? Is it designed to persuade you? Does anything about the information seem fishy?
  
  
• Ask how current the information is. 
  Views of historical events change over time, and sometimes new sources are discovered. If you're using older sources, consider the context in which it was written, including the political and economic situation. Do newer sources offer any new insights? Do they use different primary sources?
  

Think about these questions when evaluating primary sources:

• Ask who is responsible for the information.
  Who are they? What's their story? Are there things about their life, job, gender, location, or anything else that might impact what they're telling you?
  
  
• Ask who the original audience was.
  Get a sense for why the information was created in the first place. Are you reading letters meant for someone's boss or someone's sweetheart? Is it a private journal or a public newsletter? Are they creating the information for their own benefit, or were they hired? What information might they include, remove, or be less than truthful about depending on the audience? 
  
  
• Ask whether other sources match.
  Can you find other primary sources that back up what you're seeing? If they differ, what are possible reasons for the differences? Use other sources to help you uncover biases and different points of view.